3 min readUpdated: Apr 22, 2026 06:07 PM IST
Chelsea posted a dubious stat on Tuesday night when they lost 3-0 to Brighton. This was the first time that the English club had lost five league games in a row without scoring since 1912 – the year the Titanic sank. The Liam Rosenior-coached team have now lost 1-0 to Newcastle, 3-0 to Everton, 3-0 to Manchester City, 1-0 to Manchester United and 3-0 to Brighton in a run that started on March 14.
In between, they had one big 7-0 win against Port Wale in the FA Cup while also getting eliminated from the Champions League after losing to PSG 3-0 in the second leg of the round of 16 with the aggregate score of 8-2.
“I have defended the players at times when it was the correct thing, but I can’t defend that performance,” Rosenior said after Chelsea were completely outplayed and failed to have an attempt on target against Brighton. “It doesn’t represent this football club, it doesn’t represent anything I ask from the group and that has to change.
5 – Chelsea have lost five successive league games without scoring for the first time since November 1912. Unbelievable. pic.twitter.com/oym82XQMvD
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) April 21, 2026
“I feel numb I’m so angry. Something needs to change drastically right now. The professionalism wasn’t there. The players need to have a look in the mirror for what they put in. You can talk about tactics… tactics come after the basics.”
Rosenior was something of a surprise choice when he arrived at Stamford Bridge from Strasbourg in January having signed a contract until 2032 but when he won his first four Premier League games, sceptical fans appeared to have been won over.
That optimism is fading fast with Chelsea sitting seventh and sliding into a congested mid-table — not what co-owner Behdad Eghbali, who was at the Amex Stadium on Tuesday, would have envisaged.
Defender Trevoh Chalobah appeared to disagree with Rosenior’s claims after the Brighton debacle, saying the players had run “their socks off” and the suggestion is that there is now a disconnect between manager and players — a scenario that rarely ends well for a coach.
“Judging off that performance, it looks that way. I won’t lie,” the 41-year-old Englishman said.
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“We work very closely with them in training, in individual meetings, team meetings. We are giving everything to the players. There is a lack of spirit, a lack of belief that can create that perspective that makes it look a certain way.
“At the moment, it’s not about playing for me. It’s about playing for the club, playing for the shirt. It’s about playing to win games of football. I can speak on what I saw tonight. You can read anything into it that you want, whether they’re playing for me or not, but that performance in itself was damning.”
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